Why Would A Special Education Teacher Isolate A Student With Autism In A Bathroom?

The most disgusting place to learn and to loose the trust of a parent

The YouTube video below will disgust, sicken, and astonish you. You will also be left in utter disbelief.

The Back Story

Here is a brief overview of the incident.

According to the article entitled “A Student With Autism in Washington State Needed A Quiet Workspace: His School Gave Him A Desk Over A Toilet” that was published in USA Today on September 24, 2019, Ms. Danielle Goodwin, mother, asked a special education teacher to provide a quiet place for her 11 year old son Lucas to work at Whatcom Middle School. The parental request was made so that accommodations could be made due to her child’s autism diagnosis and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcus (also known as PANDAS). The teacher complied with the request by placing the student’s desk directly over a toilet in a faculty restroom. A camping mat was also placed on the bathroom floor by the teacher in the event that Lucas needed to take a nap. Once Ms. Goodwin became aware of her child’s unacceptable “quiet” learning space, she asked that he be moved from the restroom. The parent reported that the teacher refused to move him. This resulted in Ms. Goodwin removing her son from the school so that he is educated at home. Additionally, legal actions, now in motion, are being taken which includes filing a complaint against the Bellingham Public Schools.

I Am Completely Baffled by the Decision of the Teacher and Have Questions

The unacceptable actions and total lack of professional judgement of the teacher have caused many questions to rush through my mind.

How would the teacher respond if her professional work space and desk were literally assigned over an unsanitary, filthy toilet?

Does the special education teacher understand the function of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and that a change in Lucas’s placement needs to be a team decision?

Since when has a chair in front of a bathroom sink and a student desk positioned over a toilet constitute the least restrictive environment for Lucas?

Why does the teacher have such low academic performance expectations for the 11 year old student that a camping mat was placed on the bathroom floor for the sake of napping during school time?

What is the reason why the school district has not terminated this special education teacher?

The Demand For Answers

Using all of the passion and fervor that I maintain and share as I fulfill my mission to

ignite family engagement in education,

I will use my expert opinion to highlight very candid responses to each of these critical questions.

Response to Question 1

Without ever meeting the teacher who committed this egregious act against Lucas, a child with special needs, I believe, with all of the certainty that resides within me, that had her supervisor assigned her professional work space in a restroom in very close proximity to a toilet, all of the anguish that resides in the blazing, hot, and tormenting abyss would have erupted immediately.

The local teacher’s union at Belingham Public Schools would have rallied against the supervisor for making a retaliatory decision to place a highly educated professional in such a hostile and deplorable environment. I also believe that the placement of the teacher in a bathroom for planning and preparation would have quickly become a scandalous topic of conversation that would have permeated the entire local professional learning community. Furthermore, I am confident that colleagues would have garnered support from the public health department and the work space would have been classified as inhumane and unsanitary. Finally, I believe that the supervisor would have been forced to find a more conventional space for the teacher.

The Biblical principle known as the Golden Rule reads “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. To me, this ethical truth embraces critical components of empathy. Empathy is a compassionate response to others that enables one to truly understand their life circumstances. I offer an inclusive definition of empathy in my book entitled “Repair the Broken Pieces: A System to Awaken Positive Relations Between the Family and Educational Provider Through Engagement Fusion” that is shown below.

“This professional character trait develops the capacity of educators to truly understand the life situations of families. Empathy manifests when various instructors, school personnel, and others affiliated with the learning process make a concentrated effort to get to know their families, their unique differences, and individual characteristics. Empathy also mirrors reciprocity because educators reveal parts of themselves, including but not limited to their educational, cultural, and family background. Thus, this trait opens the door to transparency, which builds the trust that is required to develop a legitimate partnership for the benefit of the overall growth of the student.”

Simply stated,

the terrible actions of the teacher proved that she lacked empathy.

Response to Question 2

The teacher being scrutinized was classified as a special education teacher because she was specifically trained and certified to adhere to the federal mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a public school. She was required to provide Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) to students with disabilities and other health impairments. Unfortunately, the teacher failed to do so because she violated the Lucas’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

The IEP must be developed for any student who meets the evaluative qualifications for needing one. A team that primarily consists of the special education teacher, general education teacher, parents, school district representative such as a school administrator, or other designated members provide input into the development of the student’s educational program and they must approve of the services provided for the student. The IEP team is required to meet annually as well as anytime that the educational placement or other changes in the program need to be made.

While Ms. Goodwin originally asked the teacher to move her son from the classroom into a quiet environment, that parental request should have prompted the special education teacher to reconvene the IEP team. In doing so, the team would have determined the accommodations and modifications, the possible need for a more restrictive environment which may have required any change of placement, or additional supports that needed to be put in place for Lucas. The unfortunate fact is that the special education teacher failed to follow federally mandated protocols regarding Lucas’s educational needs that she was trained to follow. It was

absolutely wrong

for the teacher to make the exclusive decision to place the student in a bathroom to receive instruction that was totally unsupervised. I believe that the teacher committed a career ending mistake.

Response to Question 3

According to the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, data pertaining to the unique educational needs of a student with an IEP stipulates that the learner must be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). That means that the student must receive their education in the most accessible learning environment with their peers.

A desk placed in total isolation without a teacher or classmates directly over a foul toilet in a stinking, contaminated bathroom situated in front of a nauseating sanitary receptacle along with a chair positioned in front of a germ infested sink

categorically fails

to represent the most accessible place of learning for

any

student enrolled in special education or general education.

Response to Question 4

The critical functions of a twenty-first century teacher is to engage each learner in academic rigor as they maintain high levels of expectations for every student. Varied instructional strategies should be incorporated to promote deep levels student thinking. Collaborative peer focused opportunities should be created for students complete performance tasks. Technology should be integrated throughout the curriculum in a seamless manner. Students must be accountable for their learning as they demonstrate the development of self advocacy skills. Finally, formative, diagnostic, and summative assessments must be given to students so that teachers receive continuous feedback about how the learners are performing academically.

This was not the case with the special education teacher in relation to Lucas.

The teacher did not maintain the expectation for the child to participate in any meaningful, authentic, or closely monitored learning experiences. Instead, the teacher perpetuated her belief that Lucas really did not want to learn, did not care about his school work, and was incapable of performing educational tasks. The actions of the teacher powerfully communicated her attitude about Lucas. By bringing a camping mat into the student’s learning environment, the bathroom, and carefully arranging it on the grimy bathroom floor, she prepared this child to

embrace meaningless, idle class time

by sleeping because that was what he deserved. She humiliated Lucas and devalued his capacity as a learner and his significance as an 11 year old human being.

Response to Question 5

I find it absolutely surprising that Greg Baker, Superintendent of the Bellingham Public Schools protected the unidentified teacher by making excuses for her actions by referring to her decision as “well-intentioned” as reported by The New York Times on September 24, 2019. As an educated adult with a reasonable level of intelligence, the decision to educate Lucas over a toilet was much more than an act of poor judgment.

It is my opinion that there was an implied meaning boldly communicated in nonverbal terms for placing the desk where Lucas sat directly over the toilet as well as for educating the child in the restroom.

A bathroom is a place where unwanted human waste is discarded. A toilet is a nasty receptacle where filth is purged out and eliminated. My conclusion is that the placement of Lucas in the bathroom and directly over the toilet was deliberate and strategic because it reflected the teachers feeling about him. In the eyes of the teacher, Lucas was an unwanted, disgusting, revolting reject who was worthy to be abandoned like trash.

The teacher should have been immediately

terminated.

There Could Have Been Other Options

Even though the teacher should have met with Ms. Goodwin and the entire IEP team when the parent requested that her son Lucas be placed in a quiet environment, more appropriate actions could have been taken to help this child. Some of the creative and research based options that could have been facilitated by the teacher will be briefly outlined below.

1. Lucas’s desk and could have been positioned in a less stimulating section within his classroom to prevent sensory overload.
2. A thematic partition to eliminate classroom distractions could have been artistically created by the teacher, Lucas, and classmates as a special project. I am certain that Ms. Goodwin would have helped with this. Lucas and other children in the classroom could have used it as they needed to. Furthermore, the creation of a partition could have symbolized that everyone in the classroom functions as a caring learning community.
3. Lighting within a part of the classroom could have been adjusted as needed provide Lucas with a sense of calm and to increase his focus.
4. The camping mat could have been placed in the classroom where less student traffic exists so that the Lucas could have used it as his quiet work space or to take non-sleeping breaks.
5. Behavior plans, contracts, and incentives could have been used to help Lucas remain focused and to frequently celebrate his successes.
6. Social stories could have been incorporated into Lucas’s educational program.
7. Multi-sensory techniques could have been accentuated.
8. The teacher could have used strategies to verbally engage Lucas during his direct instruction.

The list above does not even begin to reflect the varied strategies that could been implemented to better service the unique needs of Lucas as the request of Ms. Goodwin was also honored by the special education teacher. Here is my bottom line.

The teacher could have and should have used appropriate accommodations and modifications for Lucas without using the bathroom.

What About Family Engagement?

“The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.”

-Nelson Mandela-

I sincerely believe that the key source of motivation for special education teachers is to keep their hearts filled with love and compassion for the students that they support and serve. However, based on the decision of the Whatcom Middle School teacher to utterly ignore the procedures embedded within special education federal laws by moving Lucas from his designated learning environment to a bathroom, it is my opinion that that this educator is

cold, heartless, and lacks compassion.

Furthermore, I believe Superintendent Greg Baker joins his teacher in not having a basic knowledge of special education laws.

As the parent of a child enrolled in middle school, when it comes my daughter’s education, I am like many parents. I need to know that my daughter’s teachers care about her as a unique individual and are committed to providing her with the best educational experiences possible. This assurance builds the capacity for me to trust them as professionals as well as to trust the school and district that they work for. Ultimately, I partner with my daughter’s teachers and my engagement remains high.

The Whatcom Middle School teacher failed miserably in this area. From the perspective of Ms. Goodwin, she no longer trusts the teacher, building administration, superintendent, nor the Bellingham Public Schools. The fact that the parent removed her son from the school and is seeking legal remedies serves as proof that trust is now void. My assumption is that other parents within the school and district, especially if their children receive special education services, have lost the ability to believe that their children are in capable, caring, an loving hands within the classroom of the teacher who move Lucas into the bathroom as well as in other environments within the Bellingham Public Schools at large.

The harsh reality is that family engagement in education cannot exist if trust is absent.

The shattered parent and teacher and parent and school district relationships that now exist in the Bellingham Public Schools can only be repaired by investing in the time and effort needed to rebuild trust.

What is your opinion about this incident and how do you think family engagement has been effected?

Here’s my golden ticket that helps me accomplish my mission.

Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher, Principal, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Assistant to the Superintendent for Family and Community Engagement, and Professor of Multicultural Education. Her e-learning course and social media platforms can be accessed on her website at www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and she is dedicating the rest of her life to serving as a Global Family Engagement Influencer.